Food for Thought, the Park Slope Civic Council’s first fundraiser in many years, is gearing up to be an exciting event for food lovers throughout our neighborhood and beyond.
Guests at Food for Thought — set for Wed., Oct. 10, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at the beautiful Prospect Park Picnic House — will enjoy delicious bites of food and tastes of spirits from popular local restaurants and vendors, live music, and mingling with neighbors. They’ll also be supporting the Civic Council’s numerous community projects and initiatives.
Funds raised that evening will help increase the three scholarships awarded every year to outstanding graduating seniors from Park Slope Collegiate and the Secondary Schools for Law and Journalism (part of the John Jay High School complex), support our annual community grants to local organizations, and sustain the Civic Council’s other efforts for a stronger Park Slope.
Food for Thought sponsor StoryKeep, a Park Slope-based media production company that records life stories, has produced a short video highlighting the Civic Council’s 2012 scholarship recipients. “We are passionate about documenting people’s stories,” said Jamie Yuenger, co-owner of StoryKeep. “When we attended a Civic Council meeting in 2011 and heard about the three scholarship winners and the Civic Council’s need to raise more funds, we knew there were stories we could help tell. We knew sharing those stories would move people to give.”
In addition to raising awareness of Food for Thought, Scholarship Stories, 2012 should help generate donations for the scholarship program in the future. You can preview the video here.
Event organizers have put together an impressive array of local restaurants and purveyors of wine and beer for guests to sample, including:
- al di la trattoria, offering up Venetian-inspired food since 1998;
- Backyard, with delicious down-to-earth home-cookin’-type food;
- Baluchi’s, focusing on traditional and regional Indian cuisines;
- Customized Kegs, creators of made-to-order kegs and home-brewed beers;
- Fort Reno BBQ, which serves cocktails, barbeque with house-smoked meats, and American comfort food;
- Kiwiana, highlighting the rich cultural and culinary traditions of New Zealand;
- Naturally Delicious (www.naturallydelicious.com), a boutique-style caterer that offers imaginative, seasonally inspired menus;
- Palo Santo, which explores Latin market cooking and incorporates ingredients from its rooftop garden;
- Pull Brewing Company, a local home brewer of a variety of beers;
- The Rooftop Restaurant and Lounge, at the top of the Hotel Le Bleu;
- Scottadito Osteria Toscana, traditional Tuscan cuisine made with sustainably grown ingredients;
- Slope Cellars, a family-run store offering a diverse selection of wine and spirits;
- Sorel — Jack from Brooklyn, maker of unique artisanal spirits;
- Stone Park Café, a contemporary American restaurant emphasizing seasonal ingredients;
- 12th Street Bar and Grill, serving Park Slope for more than 12 years;
- Windsor Wine Merchants, which offers a wide array of wines and liquors.
Tickets are currently available for $75 at www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org/food-for-thought; after Oct. 1, tickets will be $100.
Our thanks also go to the generous sponsors of Food for Thought: Assemblymember James Brennan, KQDesign, Lion in the Sun — Park Slope’s Paperie, New York Methodist Hospital, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, Park Slope Day Camp, the Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District, StoryKeep, and Warren Lewis | Sotheby’s International Realty.
We hope the fundraiser will become an annual occasion and a favorite event for Park Slope residents! The support and generosity of the community is vital for the Civic Council to continue its mission of nurturing, defending, celebrating, and invigorating Park Slope. We look forward to enjoying great food with you at Food for Thought!
from the September 2012 Civic News